Business Monday: Big Island companies continue to recover from Kona low storms and earthquake

Between the Kona low storms in March and the May earthquake, 140 commercial properties — including 41 agricultural — were damaged in the Kona and South Kona Districts.

Now with the completion of business and residential property damage assessments from South Kona’s magnitude 6 earthquake that struck on May 22, Hawai‘i County officials are waiting for Gov. Josh Green’s decision about whether he will file for a presidential disaster declaration that will help individuals and business owners secure funding for repairs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was in South Kona during the week of June 15 to assess properties damaged by the earthquake that rocked some homes off their foundations and destroyed dozens of catchment systems that left residents without potable water.

The Hawai‘i Coffee Company, which operates the Royal Kona Coffee Center at 83-5427 Māmalahoa Highway in Captain Cook, was forced to temporarily close following the tremor because its visitor facility was damaged.

The company filed a notice of closure and employee layoffs on June 8 with the Hawai‘i State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. According to the letter, the extent of damage to the building has made the facility unable to operate and will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Four of the center’s seven employees were laid off, including the manager, assistant manager and a clerk.

“At this time, it is uncertain whether operations will resume,” the letter reads.

Emails and calls to the Hawai‘i Coffee Company were unreturned as of Friday.

Hawai‘i County’s Civil Defense Administrator, Talmadge Magno, said the governor has until July 21 to file for the presidential declaration that would open up opportunities for disaster aid funding.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, a disaster declaration needs to be in place before funding can be made available for losses related to the earthquake.

The U.S. Small Business Administration received 232 full applications for business physical damage loans and economic injury disaster loans combined. As of June 30, 62 of those applications have been approved for a total of $3,481,600 in approved funding for losses related to the Kona low storms.

Tom Greenwell, owner of Greenwell Coffee Farms, said the farm had minor damage from the earthquake. However, recovery from the Kona low is ongoing.

Greenwell said they are still trying to get the road to the processing plant repaired as the storm washed it out.

“The processing plant was isolated for three months so we’re planting as fast as we can,” Greenwell said.

The Kona low also carved a 16-20 foot ditch through the coffee land including where they give tours.

FEMA will be awarding the coffee farm funds. Greenwell didn’t disclose how much they would be awarded only that it was for the max amount and they were fast-tracked to receive funds for repairs.

The Kona low Business Recovery Grant Program was launched to support eligible Hawaiʻi Island businesses impacted by the Kona Low storm systems that occurred from March 13 through March 27.

In a newsletter from the county on July 1, the county announced that the program allocated $475,000 to Hawaiʻi Island for this recovery effort.

The program, administered by the County Department of Research and Development in partnership with the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, will provide targeted grant assistance to businesses that experienced storm-related physical damage and/or business interruption losses and continue to have unmet recovery needs.